Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category

Posted on July 20, 2010 - by Russell

Longhorn Round-Up Sale Preview

The preview page for consignments to the Longhorn Round-Up Sale is now available for viewing. Simply click on the Longhorn Round-Up Sale Catalog button on the right-hand side of the webpage. This will open the PDF file with photos, pedigrees and information about the early consignments to the sale. I will be updating the preview page as consignments come in. The official catalog will be posted on September 1, 2010 but will be updated weekly until the week after consignments close on October 18, 2010. The interest in this sale is high from both sellers and prospective buyers. The sale offering is going to contain something for everyone. There will be Top Quality seed stock as well as recreational and commercial cattle. If you have ever thought about getting into the Longhorn Breed, now is the time and the Longhorn Round-Up Sale is the place to get started. Don’t forget to join us on Friday afternoon for the free educational seminars. Longhorns are an enjoyable and easy breed to raise. Hope everyone will make plans to join us on October 29 and 30^th in West, Texas at the West Livestock Auction.     

Posted on July 8, 2010 - by Russell

Longhorn Beef in Healthy Diet

“Heart Surgeon Claims”

By Steve Cubbage

            The man is a heart surgeon and cattleman.  Dr. Joe Graham is at home on the range at a time when doctors and cattlemen aren’t exactly on the same side of the fence when it comes to the subject of beef. 
            Graham is a cardiovascular surgeon at St. Johns Medical Center and he raises Longhorns on his ranch outside of Joplin, MO.
            “I know that at first glance it might look hypocritical for a heart surgeon to be raising beef.  But those pointing the finger at beef don’t know all the facts,” says Graham.  He believes that the beef industry has been unfairly targeted as the scapegoat for Americans’ health problems.
            “Having dealt with cardiovascular patients during my training as a surgeon I knew that heart disease wasn’t caused by just one thing you eat.  It became obvious to me that this country’s dietary problems are not much what people eat, but that people simply eat too much,” notes Graham.
            The doctor is vehemently anti-fat – in cattle and even more so in humans. 
            “I don’t know anyone in the medical profession who isn’t,” he says.  “The problem in this country isn’t a red meat problem rather a volume problem – too much food in every category – we’re just too blooming fat.  Nobody likes to be called obese, but, the sorry fact is that obesity in this country is just rampant – and it’s killing us.
            “Food is just too cheap.  It is so cheap that farmers are going broke.  Fast food joints line the streets and highways.  It’s two for one and all you can eat.  We are a nation of people crowded into the feedlots and encouraged by every advertisement and every inducement to walk into a restaurant and gorge ourselves.”
            As a cardiovascular surgeon, Graham feels he can use his position to reeducate people about the place of beef in their diet.  “I knew if I was going to raise cattle I had better choose the type of cattle that would send the right kind of message to people about the place of beef in their diet.
            That’s why he chose Longhorns.  “Lean beef is good for you and that’s what the Longhorn produces,” says Graham.
            Groomed by the evolutionary forces of Mother Nature, the Longhorn breed is not as high in saturated fat as other breeds.   According to Graham, Longhorn meat, on average, contains 10 percent less saturated fat than that of other cattle.  “That puts lean Longhorn beef on par with the skinned boneless white meat of chicken.  And that fact may come as a surprise to many dieticians,” he says.
            Old habits die hard – even for well-educated doctors and dieticians.  “Red meat was labeled as one of the bad guys several years ago because of the medical community’s zeal to reduce fat in the American diet,” says Graham. “Lean beef is good for you – and the key word is lean.  A heart patient can eat steak every meal if it is in the right proportions.  Beef is nutrient rich – containing several of the B vitamins and dense in such dietary essentials as iron and protein.  So you see, beef is one of the good guys.”
            While many Americans need to work on losing weight, Graham feels cattlemen, packers and retailers need to work on raising, feeding, butchering and supplying beef in a form that’s leaner and healthier.  “If the beef industry doesn’t start providing what people want, and need, the market will go to the birds.”
            The first step toward leaner beef begins at conception. “Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to breeding cattle.  Just because it fits the box doesn’t mean it’s the best product for the consumer,” emphasizes Graham.
            Enter the Texas Longhorn.  “There is a genetic treasure in the Longhorn breed yet to be discovered by the cattle industry,” believes Graham.

 

Source: 1997 TLBAA Breeders Handbook, article first printed in December 1989.

Posted on July 5, 2010 - by Russell

Butler TLBAA AI Certified Bulls

In the Texas Longhorn breed there are 7 families or bloodlines.  These bloodlines are the result of the individuals who were breeding and preserving the Longhorn in the early years when the Longhorn was almost extinct.

One of these bloodlines is the Butler line named after Milby Butler who was dedicated to preserving his idea of a true Texas Longhorn.  For more information about Milby Butler and his cattle visit the Butler Breeders website at www.butlertexaslonghorns.com  

Unlike the other bloodlines, which have lost some of their popularity, the Butler Bloodline has grown in esteem over the last ten years.  There are several reasons for the increase in value and high regard for Butler genetics.  One of these reasons is a dedicated group of breeders and another is the Butler Breeders Invitational Sale. 

When it comes to evaluating the quality of a Butler animal one must first look at the pedigree and then the animal.  With straight Butler cattle it is not all about horn — it is important — but so is the pedigree.

Artificial Insemination is a good way to add great old Butler genetics to a program.  I have attached PDF files with information on the straight Butler bulls that are AI certified with the TLBAA.  The bulls’ pedigrees and photos were published in the July 2008 Trails Herd Sire Directory.  I have added additional comments, reference photos and placed the bulls in sections based on the Butler sub-family they represent. butler-ai-sires-pg-1-181 , butler-ai-sires-pg-19-36       

Posted on June 25, 2010 - by Russell

What Makes a Breed Succeed?

           

                         Did you ever wonder how or what makes a breed like the Texas Longhorn succeed?  I certainly have; in fact, I have given a lot of thought to that intriguing question.  We have seen a tremendous array of beef cattle breeds in the United States during my lifetime.  Some breeds succeed and earn a permanent niche in our beef industry; others seem to merely hang on; while others falter, fail and practically disappear from the American livestock scene.  This has fascinated me over my forty years of active work in the livestock field.  No doubt, each of us could compile an impressive list of items related to the success of a breed.  I would like to share my list of thirteen considerations with you.
            First, if a breed is to truly succeed on a long-term economic basis, it must possess one or more unique traits that are needed by the commercial beef industry.  It must be more than just a “me too” breed!  It must differ some in economically important traits than the rest of the breeds.  Otherwise, why bother to consider it if there are a dozen other breeds that can do the same thing?  At Berry College in northwest Georgia, we maintain registered herds of seven beef breeds: Angus, Brahman, Brangus, Chianina, Devon, Simmental and Texas Longhorn.  Visitors to the campus sometimes voice the opinion that some of these varied breeds must have been selected because of fad or fancy!  Each of the breeds, however, was selected specifically because our crystal ball tells me that they possess certain traits that will be needed to meet the demands and emerging changes in our beef industry.  For example, the Texas Longhorn was selected for its high fertility, browsing ability and lean meat production.  Doesn’t it make good sense that private breeders should place considerable emphasis on unique economically important traits also? 
            Secondly, to fully succeed a breed should be loaded with traits needed by the commercial beef industry.  In my inventory of such economically important traits are: fertility, calving ease, calf survivability, milking ability, temperament, conformation (beef where beef counts), maximum lean meat, carcass quality, hardiness (including heat and parasite resistance for the South), disease resistance, longevity, rustling ability, fast rate of gain and efficiency of feed conversion.  This list reads almost like an inventory of traits of the Texas Longhorn breed!  How does your “breed of choice” rate on these traits?  How many of these traits can it contribute as complementary traits in a crossbreeding program?
            An important third factor would be for the breed to have a genetic make-up pure enough (genetic stability) to pass the desired traits to their offspring.  If a breeder wants to help his breed succeed, he must make sure that the performance of the cattle that he offers for sale as seed stock is due to additive genes and not to heterosis or hybrid vigor.  In other words, the cattle must possess purity (homozygosity) in their desired genes.  Breed purity will help maximize the returns from crossbreeding. 
            As a fourth criteria for success, a breed must meet trends (present and anticipated) in the beef industry.  In other words, it will be essential that the breed can be used to produce cattle that will have the greatest advantage throughout the production, feeding, processing and merchandising system.  Admittedly, it is difficult to plan today’s production for tomorrow’s markets!  However, I strongly believe that there are two “demands” that a breed must be ready to meet.  First, my personal crystal ball tells me that the stress will be on cattle that will utilize pastures, rangeland, forage, crop residues and by-products most effectively and efficiently.  Texas Longhorns score high on this point!  Second, most everyone’s crystal ball should now tell them that our cattle must produce a maximum of low calorie lean meat, preferably with quality bred in for juiciness and palatability.  This would mean a breed must transmit lots of lean muscle with a minimum of subcutaneous and intermuscular fat but with a modest amount of intramuscular fat (marbling) for flavor and juiciness.  This second trend is readily apparent with the increased merchandising of lower calorie beef under such labels as “Longhorn Lean” and “Key-lite”.  For the foreseeable future, our breeds must fill the role of efficiently producing the maximum muscle with a minimum of marbling included to assure quality.
            As a fifth consideration, it is important that breeders not get “hung up” on a single trait selection – like for size alone.  Granted, such selection will give the most rapid rate of genetic change in that one trait.  However, it is important that a balance be kept among economically important traits if a breed is to make the greatest genetic contributions to the profitability of our total beef industry.  Unfortunately, some breeds have glorified frame size to the extent that such economically important traits as reproductive efficiency and mothering ability have been almost completely overlooked.
            As a sixth point, if breeders want to help their breeds succeed, they must void chasing fads!  Some breeds have been seriously handicapped by breeders placing too much emphasis on a fancy or non-economically important trait.  Let me draw upon the sheep industry to illustrate this point.  At one time Shropshire breeders were breeding for maximum wool coverage on their animals.  They like to advertise “wooled from their nose to their toes!”  They were so successful in putting wool over the entire face that many animals became practically wool blind.  It took quite a while for progressive breeders to undo this mistake.  This delay in genetic progress permitted other sheep breeds to surge to the front.  Cattle breeds are not immune to such an error by their breeders.  Too rigid color restrictions for registration is one example.  Texas Longhorn breeders can do the same thing also as they blindly chase the longest tip-to-tip horn measurements.  One should pause and ask, “What does this contribute to the profitable production of beef?”  The larger the number of traits selected for, the slower will be the progress in any one of them.  Thus, the traits under selection should be the ones that are of greatest economic value which have high enough heritabilities to respond to selection pressure.
            As a seventh consideration, it helps to have a breed represented at Land-Grant universities and other agricultural colleges, especially where the faculty understand and are thoroughly familiar with the breed.  The Brahman herd at Louisiana State University and the Barzona herd at Mississippi State University are good examples.  Hopefully, Texas Longhorns at Berry will become another!  Among the advantages that this offers the breed are:  (1) Breed research becomes more meaningful; (2) Students become familiar with the breed, and they will be our next generation of cattlemen; and (3) When used in field days, short courses, and judging contests, a college herd becomes a good “display window” for the breed.  The presence of a breed on a college campus is especially important in a relatively new marketing area for that breed.  As indicated previously, Berry College has breeding herds of seven breeds of beef cattle and, in addition, is establishing small demonstration units of two additional breed – Barzona and Senepol.  These breeds have created considerable interest on the part of many cattlemen throughout the Southeast, and many visitors come from outside the region.  Granted, it is difficult to get a breed accepted into a Land-Grant university due to the political implications involved related to federal and state funding.  It is a bit easier to get a breed accepted into a private college, such as Berry, since those colleges do not have to “play politics.”  The main handicap with a private college is finding one that has adequate land, facilities, and funds to take on an additional breed.
            An eighth item of great importance is the expertise of the breeders in producing “quality control” animals for the commercial industry.  Remember, the purebred breeder is the “tool maker” for our multibillion dollar cattle industry.  Accordingly, purebred breeders must intensify their efforts to produce superior breeding stock to continue meeting the exacting specifications demanded by our beef industry.  For a breed to succeed, its breeders must recognize and be the first to use new selection and breeding techniques that show merit for advancing efficiency and economy of beef production. 
            Although I have listed it as ninth, the integrity of the breeders plays a more important role in the success of a breed than this late listing might indicate!  A high standard of ethics and integrity on the part of its major breeders proves to be one of a breed’s very best advertisements.  Remember, the purebred breeder is the guardian of the genetic material needed to advance the progress of the commercial beef producer.  Every effort should be made to rid the breed of undesirable genes and to pass such genetic material on in an improved status through the use of sire summaries and by strict performance in progeny testing, judicious selection, and carefully planned corrective matings.  It has been rightfully said that purebred breeders should exercise every effort “to sell cattle that won’t come back to breeders who will!”  That’s a major ingredient of success for the breed as well as the breeder.
            A tenth consideration of great importance is to have the breed represented by a sound, progressive registry association.  Most of the positive work done toward improving a breed’s merit will be accomplished by able, energetic, and persevering individual breeders.  However, a registry association can help hold the existing merit of the breed and can help acquaint “beginners” with what is considered ideal by the majority of the breeders of that breed.  Many registry associations are now giving their breeders a strong helping hand toward genetic improvement through the annual release of sire summaries, which publish the results of national sire evaluation programs. 
            An eleventh aid to help a breed succeed is to have a number of the top sires of the breed represented in the beef sire directories of artificial insemination companies like American Breeders Service; Select Sires, Inc.; and Elgin Breeding Service.  The availability of semen gives added “recognition” of the breed; and if truly genetically superior bulls are included, it will accelerate genetic progress for the breed.
            A twelfth consideration is to see that the breed is accurately represented in the USDA Farmer’s Bulletin Beef Cattle Breeds.  If the breed is not included and a registry association exists for the breed, strong effort should be made to get it into the next revision.  This publication is widely read by prospective cattlemen and by 4-H and F.F.A. members who should know about your breed as they consider the choice of a breed or breeds.
            My thirteenth factor for success of a breed is sound merchandising – not just mere selling.  For if a breed is to avoid the “boom and burst” syndrome, its breeders must exercise care about extreme ballyhoo, rigged bids, and “trading off” among themselves.  Such practices tend to create a false image of the breed being a “plaything for the wealthy” in the minds of sound commercial cattlemen to the point that they feel that they cannot compete for the good bulls of the breed.  The day is rapidly approaching when production records and carcass cutout values will replace showing winnings and sale prices as measures of a breed’s accomplishments and success.  Commercial producers will insist on seeing official performance records before purchasing purebreds of a given breed for use in their production programs whether it be grading-up or, more likely, crossbreeding. 
            How do these points compare with what you see in your crystal ball?  I am sure that I have overlooked some that you feel are important and perhaps have included some that you feel are not significant.  On some, you may totally disagree.  However, if I were to single out one of the thirteen as most important, it would be my very first one:  If a breed is to truly succeed on a long-term economic basis, it must possess one or more unique traits that are needed by the commercial beef industry.  If I am partially correct, the Texas Longhorn has a long and promising economic future that will eclipse the breed’s historical claim to fame!

By Stewart H. Fowler

 

 

Source:  The Longhorn Scene, June 1987.
           

By Stewart H. Fowler

Posted on June 15, 2010 - by Russell

. . . for Horns and Color

By Jim Warren 

            Let me tell you about a nightmare I had the other night.  I found myself at a big Texas Longhorn cattle sale.  This in itself is not strange, but I bought a heifer for $20,000 – now you know I was dreaming!  Well, I bought her because she had enormous horns (46 inches as a yearling) and flashy color – she was a three-color paint with a gruella head and roan tail.
            Well, I loaded her up and l took her home, jumped her out in her own special padded trap and went to my bull pasture to bring over the $10,000 bull I had bought last year.  (He had enormous horns and flashy color.)  I jumped him out in the trap with her and sat back to wait.  Well, that was the longest thirteen months I have ever spent – usually I had to wait only nine months, but for some reason it took thirteen this time.  (I figured it was just my nerves.)
            Anyway, one morning I drove up to the trap fully expecting to see a bright new calf and there was my new heifer lying on her side looking like a grounded blimp.  Well, you can imagine – I thought she was dead!  I ran across the trap and just before I got to her she raised up her head and looked at me as much to say, “You sure took your time, where have you been?”  Boy was I relieved to see her move!  So I got a hold of her horns and tried to neck her up – but she wouldn’t budge.  About the time I stepped back to wipe the sweat out of my eyes I noticed her straining and it finally dawned on me that she must be fixing to have her calf.  Well, I waited and the heifer strained, and I waited and she strained and this went on for about half an hour with no results.  (By this time I was about to have a calf.)

Call the Vet!

          Finally it dawned on me that something was happening to my twenty thousand dollar heifer that I wasn’t used to – she was having trouble calving!  So needless to say I tripped over my ace cow dog who was asleep behind me, leaped the wire gap in a single bound, nearly tore the door handle off my pickup to get to the mobile phone and do something else I wasn’t use to – call the vet!  I didn’t even know the number.  I just got the operator and she seemed to be used to vet emergencies so she got him right away.  Well, I told him to get out to my padded pens as quick as he could – one of my cows was sick (I didn’t want to tell him what she was sick of, but I knew he always carried his calf-puller with him.)
            Then I whizzed back to my heifer to see if there had been any further developments – and there hadn’t.  I started waiting again – I couldn’t sit down though – I was pacing up and down wearing out the grass when the Doc roared up in a cloud of dust.  I didn’t know if I could tell him what was wrong, but I finally kind of hung my head and mumbled in a low voice.  “She’s having little trouble calving.” 

            The Doc went over and rolled back her eyelids and looked in her eye.  I said, “No, Doc that’s not where the trouble is.”  What he said was unintelligible – I was glad of that.  Then he squatted down at the other end and went to feeling around and saying “Uhhuh, ah hah,” and other professional words while I wrung my hands and got back in the groove I had worn earlier pacing up and down.  Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer so I ran over to his truck and said, “Doc, can I bring you this uh – this uh calf puller?”  He had gotten up about that time and came over to wash his hands (and arm).  He said, “No, Jim, we won’t need that.”  The tone of his voice told me more than the words and all I could say was, “What is it, Doc?”    
            “Well,” he said, “that calf is too big for your heifer to have naturally.  She’d never make it – puller or no puller.” 
            “Then do something Doc!  That’s an expensive heifer.”  I didn’t want to tell him how expensive.
            He said, “We can take it with a C-section and should have good results.”  I said, “Well then let’s get on with the program Doc, I can’t take much more of this waiting.”

One-Hundred Pounder

     So to make a long story somewhat shorter the operation was a great success.  Doc pulled out the best looking one-hundred pound, three-colored heifer calf I had ever seen. 
      The next day the cow was up grazing around the trap and the calf was nursing away when I got there to check on them.  I still watched them pretty close for three or four days though and everything looked fine for a couple of weeks.  Then I began to notice that the calf spent a lot of time laying around and didn’t look like it was keeping up with the size of my calves in the pasture right next door.  I made all kinds of excuses for this occurrence – young cow, first calf, hard delivery, full moon on the tenth, wind out of the west – you know, all those things which usually cause calves to do poorly.
      After a couple more days I couldn’t stand it any longer – that was my prize calf from my $20,000 cow sired by a $10,000 bull.  I had to see what was the matter.  So I called Ol’ Doc again (I had his number on the sun visor of my pickup now) and he came right out.  First, he checked the calf over real good, said “uh huh and ah hah” again and went to look at the cow.  After he followed her around the pen a couple of times he went over and sat down.
      “Well Doc,” I said, “should I sit down too or what?”
      “No,” he said, “it’s not that bad.  I run into it all the time in other herds.  Let’s analyze this thing and you’ll see it clear.  What is that between that cow’s hind legs?”
      “Doc, you’re not teaching Anatomy 101 – that’s her udder, that’s what it is.”
      “Alright,” he said, “but look at those heifers right next to her in that pasture.”
      Well, it finally hit me.  Those heifers had bags that looked like basketballs compared to this one.  Doc saw me sorta leaning over the fence sobbing and said, “Don’t take is so hard.  You won’t have any trouble finding a nurse cow.  All your neighbors have been using them for years.”  Needless to say I got a nurse cow and raised that calf because I had too much invested in her and besides she had the potential to have bigger horns than her mama.
      So, time rocked long, like it does, and I bred the cow to a $20,000 bull this time – on the third try.  (He had tremendous horns and great color.)  I figured the trouble must have been that the first bull wasn’t her equal.  The next summer, she had another heifer calf with me and Doc just pulling this one.  The nurse cow didn’t seem to mind raising her own calf and somebody else’s at the same time, so I didn’t feel too bad about the whole deal.  After all I had managed to raise two heifer calves out of my $20,000 cow in just short of three years.  They both had tremendous horn and great color and should bring a fortune at the sales; and Wade and T.E. didn’t mind (too much) learning to use a calf-puller to help with future problems – and just think, in a few more years I’d have a whole herd of cows with tremendous horns and great color plus another herd of great nurse cows.  I could open up a Holstein dairy to make a little money to help pay the feed bill.

“Tongue in Cheek”

 

      Well, I hope this hasn’t offended anyone because I never intentionally offend anyone.  You all know that this is written sort of tongue-in-cheek, but at the same time it is a story that has a few points in it that I don’t want to lose sight of.  I hope you can see them too.

 

Editor’s note: This short story was written back in 1982 but the point it is making is still an issue today…Single Trait Selection. When we as breeders focus on breeding for one or two traits we are in danger of losing other traits that are in many cases more important than the traits we are breeding. For every action (increase in a trait) there is a reaction (decrease in another trait) there fore we need to find a balance. As true Texas Longhorn Cattle Breeders we should be focused on breeding and producing cattle that are a ”total package” of ALL the great traits that have allowed the Longhorn to survive the test of time.   

 

Source:  Texas Longhorn Journal, July/August 1982, Guest Editorial, page 20.

Posted on June 11, 2010 - by Russell

Longhorn Crosses Mean Profit in the Pocket

By Carolyn Hunter 

 

            Today’s cattle producers face the constant challenge of producing high-quality lean beef as economically as possible.  In 1991, Texas A&M University began a valuable program to show cow-calf and stocker operators how their cattle fit the needs of the beef industry.
            The A&M “Ranch to Rail” program is designed to measure feedlot performance, carcass traits and net dollar return for individual cattle on feed.  Cattlemen delivered their calves in the fall to one of two feedlots in Texas where they were tagged, processed, and followed all the way through the feeding phase to slaughter.
            The first year, 74 producers from Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma entered 666 steers in the program.  Among them were several who sent Texas Longhorn crosses.  Gerry Shudde was one of those.
            The Sabinal rancher took seven Texas Longhorn/Salers cross calves.  Of the seven, five graded choice or select, and carcass percentages were good.  However, profits varied widely on the steers, so Shudde went home to make some adjustments in his breeding program – the purpose of “Ranch to Rail”.
            He entered five Texas Longhorn/Limousin cross steers in the 1992-93 program.  When payday came, Shudde’s steers brought him a return of $91.71 above the average for the “Ranch to Rail” Program.  This income was helped by the fact that the Texas Longhorn cross steers had zero medicine costs while the program had an average of $3.44.  Death loss was also zero compared to the average $4.74.  Carcass value/cwt was $4.30 above the average.
            Four of the five steers quality graded choice and one select with yield grades of 1 or 2.  The carcasses dressed out at an average of 65.38%, with ribeye area averaging 15 sq.in., ideal for packer boxes.  Outside fat came in at an excellent .26” average.  Excess fat lowers dressing weight and lowers yield grade, and means more trimming at the packing house.
            “The steers returned $733 after feed cost, and ranch expenses came out of that,” says Shudde.  “Putting your cattle into feedlots takes a planned system of grazing until they hit 600-700 lbs., but beats the $350-400 they would bring at weaning through an auction.”
            Bob Bachman, with Agri Ventures Corporation, Graham, TX, ranches in Texas and New Mexico.  He runs mostly Brangus-cross type cows, and uses Longhorn bulls on all his heifers.  Bachman sent 19 Longhorn X calves off his first-calf Brangus heifers to the Randall County Feedyards in the Texas Panhandle.  His net profit per steer was $17.18 above the “Ranch to Rail North” average.  All 19 graded choice or select.  Carcass dressing percentages ranged from 62.5% to 71.09%.
            Bachman has kept some of his Longhorn-cross heifers as replacement females.  His Longhorn-cross cows run on some of his rougher country.  He usually keeps a cow as long as her teeth are good and she’s raising a good calf.  “Generally, their mouth kinda peters out when they’re somewhere around 10-12 years old.  I think the longevity of these Longhorn crosses will be better,” said Bachman in an article in the New Mexico Stockman.  “I think we’ll find these half-blood cows might get on out to 14 years.  It costs a lot of money to get a calf into production, so if you get two or three years more, it’s just that much money saved.”
            Shudde and his wife can’t say enough about their registered Texas Longhorn cows and the cross-calves.  “They’re ideal for this brush country,” says Shudde.  “They’re small cows that can browse efficiently.  Right now, they’ve quit the dry grass and are licking on Huajillo brush.  They’re also easier to work than Brahman crosses.”
            Janelle Shudde chimes in.  “What seems the strongest about our Longhorn crossbreeding program is being able to utilize this breed that has developed such strong ‘survivor’ characteristics such as few birthing problems, range and brush grazing and effective mothering; combine those things to come up with something, not just preserving history, but effective in the production arena of the real world we have to make a living in.”
            “I’ve eaten beef all my life, and those Longhorn cross steaks are the best I’ve ever eaten,” says Shudde.  “That and the dollars are the bottom line, as far as I’m concerned!”

 

Source:  1996 TLBAA Breeders Handbook, page 85.

Posted on June 7, 2010 - by Russell

Longhorn Round-Up Sale

Sell Your Cattle at a Quality Sale…. and Have More Money Left in Your Pocket at the End of the Day. 

 The Longhorn Round-Up Sale on October 30, 2010 will allow you to do just that - sell your cattle and keep more money in your pocket.  The fee for this sale is a $50 promotional fee and a straight 10% commission with a maximum commission of $300. No other fees, no hidden expenses, no higher percentages if you don’t make a purchase at the sale.

 

How Can We Have a Quality Sale and Keep The Sale Fees Low?

 

Simple.  I will be cutting my expenses for managing the sale by taking advantage of today’s modern technology such as Internet websites and email.  One of the biggest savings will be the sales catalog.  There will only be an on-line printable catalog with color photos, pedigrees, comments and breeding information available to anyone interested in Longhorn cattle. 

 

This on-line catalog will not only help in cutting costs, but will help promote the sale and the cattle to thousands of potential buyers who are not currently in the Longhorn industry. With the on-line catalog I will save thousands of dollars by not having to pay for typesetting, printing and postage. That’s more money I can use to promote the sale.

 

Making It Easy For Consignors

 

As a consignor you do not have to select your consignments and pay a large consignment fee three or four months in advance.  This will save you time and money.  However, do keep in mind the earlier you consign the more promotional exposure your consignment will receive online.

 

By controlling the sale expenses, I will pass along these savings to the consignors in several ways:

 

·         The $50 non-refundable promotional fee per lot at the time of consignment will result in a pretty large savings, especially for those who consign multiple lots to the sale, leaving more money in your pocket. 

·         The commission you will pay is based on how well your consignment sells. If it sells for over $500 you will be charged a 10% commission fee up to a maximum of $300.

·         The $50 non-refundable promotional fee will be all you pay if you PO your lot or if your consignment sells for $500 or less.

 

 

Low Cost, But Lots of Exposure

 

The Longhorn Round-Up Sale will be promoted in offline and online media. More people get their information on the Internet than from any other source so we’ll have a special emphasis on Internet marketing. Here are a few of the marketing media options for promoting the sale:

 

• Longhorn Source: The catalog will be featured on this website. It attracts over 15,000 visitors per year and over 9,000 page views per month – all by people who are specifically interested in Longhorn cattle.

·         Longhorn Round-Up Blog: I’m reformatting this blog to better promote the Longhorn breed with information that won’t be found anywhere else. The blog currently has several hundred visitors each month and is growing.

·         Longhorn Round-Up Facebook page: Facebook is growing exponentially and many Longhorn breeders and those interested in the breed are participating on Facebook on a daily basis.

·         Internet Advertising: I’ll be placing ads with geographic targeting as well as some rural/local publications to persuade beef cattle producers of the economical benefits of Longhorns.

·         Texas Longhorn Trails magazine: The Trails has a monthly circulation of over 4,700 copies making it the most widely distributed Longhorn publication in the industry.

·         American Classifieds: An important low cost resource that gets the ads in front of people with rural, farming, and ranching interests.

 

Help Stabilize and Grow Our Market for All Breeders.

 

It’s no secret that severe droughts and a weakened economy have impacted the prices for Longhorns. We all need to work together to help promote and market our cattle in the most affordable way possible. That is the number one goal of the Longhorn Round-Up Sale.

 

A low cost sale isn’t enough to continue to move this industry forward. We have to educate breeders and potential buyers about this great breed of cattle. The fact is that people who have come into the industry in recent years have only been exposed to a single trait focus: tip-to tip horn measurements.

 

Beyond Tip-to-Tip: How To Market Longhorn Cattle

 

I love big-horned Longhorn cattle as much as anybody. However, this breed has far more important attributes that need to be talked about to increase marketing opportunities. Hardiness, disease resistance, browse utilization, calving ease, fertility, longevity and lean beef are traits that breeders should be breeding for because these are the traits that can make Longhorns a viable part of the commercial cattle breeding industry. Just because the bull or cow has 80 inches of horn, doesn’t mean the progeny will, and it doesn’t mean the progeny don’t have value. The truth is that our industry has not done a good job of marketing our cattle beyond tip-to-tip. It’s time to change that.

 

Announcing a Free Educational Seminar

 

With the help of several Longhorn breeders we will be hosting a free educational seminar in conjunction with the sale on Friday evening October 29, 2010 focusing on two main topics: “The True Cash Cows of the Industry” and “The Danger of Single Trait Selection”.  More information on these topics will be available at a later date.  If you would like to volunteer to help with the seminars or need additional information, please contact the seminar coordinator Gail Kocian at 361-798-6774 or gail@krazyklonghorns.com.

 

By providing educational services, promotion and affordable marketing we can stabilize and grow our market for the betterment of the breed, which benefits all breeders.

 

 

Open to Everyone.

 

The Longhorn Round-Up Sale is not an association sale, invitation only or select sale, but a true open consignment sale, which means everyone is welcome. We will accept ALL registered Texas Longhorn Cattle without any association membership requirements. I would encourage you to be a member of one of the breed associations, but it is not required. The sale cattle will NOT be screened prior to acceptance in the sale, but please remember, your consignments represent your program.

 

To take advantage of this affordable marketing opportunity plan on joining us on October 29 and 30 as a consignor to the Longhorn Round-Up Sale at the West Auction Barn.  The auction barn is conveniently located just outside of the town of West, Texas on Interstate 35 at Exit 351.  The West Auction barn with a café on the premises will provide a clean and comfortable setting for both the seminars and the sale. 

 

For consignment forms and additional information go to longhorn-roundup-consignment-form_edited , round-up-requirements_edited , health-requirements_edited , sale-waiver_edited . You may also contact me directly by phone at 409-381-0616 or email me at russellh@longhornroundup.com.

 

I’ve been in the Longhorn business for over 30 years and I’ve never been more excited about the possibilities of this breed than I am right now. Join me in promoting this extraordinary breed of cattle.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Russell Hooks

Sale Manager

Licensed Auctioneer # 13717

 

Posted on June 4, 2010 - by Russell

TLBAA AI Certified Sires

I recently posted an article about the basics of Artificial Insemination. As a follow up I thought readers might like to view photos and pedigrees of the 600 plus sires that have been AI certified by the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America. I have attached PDF files of this information which was originally printed in the July 2008 Texas Longhorn Trails’ AI Herd Sire Reference Directory. The sires contained in this AI Directory start with the very first sire ever AI certified in the Texas Longhorn breed and concludes with the most recent sires certified as of July 2008. Many of the great old bulls that have proven themselves as top sires in the breed can be found in this sire directory as well as some young up and comers. This directory is a useful reference tool for anyone who is considering using AI as a way to improve their herd or would just like to know what a certain bull looks like that is in the pedigree of one of thier animals. Semen on some of the old time great producers can still be found and can prove to be a great genetic asset to breeders looking to build on proven genetics that are not found up close in very many modern day herds. You can also study a lot of the younger or newer generation bulls that everyone is use in their herds before deciding to acquire semen on them for your herd. I hope you find this online Sire Directory helpful.  ai-certified-sires-1-thru-26, ai-certified-sires-27-thru-52, ai-certified-sires-53-78 . I will be adding a Butler Sire version of this directory in the near future. It will contain all the AI certified Butler Sires along with my notes about them and reference photos of dams, sires or offspring.   

Posted on June 1, 2010 - by Russell

Artificial Insemination Basics

What is Artificial Insemination?

            Artificial Insemination (A.I.) is defined as the collection of sperm from a male and placing it in the uterus of an in-estrus female.  This is commonly done in several species of animals and in man.  A.I. was first performed on cattle in the United States in 1937.  This procedure grew rapidly so that approximately two thirds of the 11 million dairy cattle in the U.S. are artificially inseminated presently.  In many countries, nearly 100 percent of dairy cattle are inseminated artificially.

Why use A.I.?

            The advantages of A.I. are: 1) If a bull is available that will sire offspring that are totally superior, then his semen can be divided into approximately 700 straws capable of causing about 60 percent pregnancies each week.  Some dairy sires have sired between 100,000 and 200,000 calves in a lifetime.  2) Bulls can be selected more carefully and tried to see if they sire high quality calves – then if they do, they can be used on a large number of females.  3) Semen can be frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen tanks and used years after the sire is dead.

What percent of cows bred by A.I. will conceive?

            A 60 percent conception rate is common for experienced inseminators.  This is about the same as if the cow was mated with a bull naturally.

Who can inseminate?

            The procedure for A.I. is relatively easy.  Many schools are held several times a year to teach the procedure.  The schools are usually three days in length.  The person going to the school then needs to use the knowledge gained as soon and as often as possible to fine tune his skills.  If you do not wish to A.I. cows yourself, you can usually hire a neighbor to do it for you or a local veterinarian.  Call your vet for details about local A.I. units or about schools.

What equipment is needed?

            Semen can be purchased at almost any artificial inseminating unit.  Usually you can rent a nitrogen tank until you find your need to buy one.  The equipment for insemination costs from $100 to $400.  It consists of a carrying case, a syringe or Kazoo gun, a container of sterile straws or sheaths that are sterile, an instrument to cut the top off the inseminating straw, forceps to grasp the frozen straw from the nitrogen tank and a hot water bath to thaw frozen semen.

Is A.I. practical for beef cattle?

            I had a purebred herd of cattle and purchased semen from a sire that had sold as a bull stud for $500,000.  The semen costs only $20.  The calf from that mating brought $2,000.  If you have good cows and can purchase semen from famous bulls that have all the qualities you want, then the results are usually profitable.  You must also have marketing expertise.
            If you are going to use artificial insemination for a genetic improvement program, it is necessary to have a well thought out plan in mind.

Is A.I. for you?

            Before answering this question, a producer needs to find out what is encompassed in the big picture of artificial breeding versus natural mating.  An A.I. program involves much more than just placing semen in the uterus of a cow in heat; it requires intensified management practices and knowledge of the ‘essentials’ that, when managed properly, contribute to the success of an artificial insemination program.
            Penciling out the costs and weighing them against the benefits can help you decide if A.I. can work in your operation.  The National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB) points out the following advantages and requirements of artificial breeding programs.

Advantages of A.I.

·         The primary reward with A.I. is that it allows you to use outstanding bulls, likely some of the best the industry offers; access to the bulls is generally at moderate prices.

·         Goals will be achieved as quickly as is currently possible in beef cattle breeding.

·         Working hand in hand with A.I. are today’s advanced sire evaluations which give you reliable statistics that identify bulls superior in important economic traits.  Using the evaluations and A.I., your ability to produce seedstock for specific purposes is enhanced appreciably.

·         Experts have a vested interest in your success.  Your A.I. supplier is available to help you with your program.  A.I. organizations are going to stay in business only if they provide their clients with the best available genetics and help them use those genetics to their best advantage.

·         You can sample and use any number of bulls.

·         If you only have a few cows, you have as great a selection of genetics as someone with 1,000 cows.

·         You can match each cow to a different bull if you want.

·         If you refer to a sire summary in your selection, you can breed heifers to bulls known to reduce the risk of calving problems.

·         A.I. gives you access to well-promoted sires.  If one of them matches your specifications and you use him, you can take advantage of the sire’s name to help sell the offspring.

·         Using top bulls will result in top replacement heifers.  You won’t have to buy them, and many A.I. users have a good market for their extra heifers.

·         You don’t have to keep a bull around all year.

·         Even if you consider increased labor for heat detection and insemination, it’s often cheaper to buy semen than to keep a bull.

·         Your calving season will likely be shorter.  You’ll get a more uniform calf crop and save on labor.

·         When you buy semen from a reputable supplier, A.I. is one of the first lines of defense in disease prevention.  Reputable organizations follow exacting standards concerning bull health and semen collection, processing and storage.  The A.I. industry is self-governed and has a very impressive track record.

·         A.I. helps you identify fertility problems more quickly.

·         A.I. forces you to keep records.  Among other things, better records improve your replacement heifer selection and records can be effectively used in merchandising.

·         Heifer management is simplified.  Heifers of varying ages and sizes can be pastured together with no danger of them getting bred too early.

·         A.I. eliminates the need for several breeding pastures.

·         You have options.  You can use A.I. for one heat period, then use natural service; you can synchronize; or you can A.I. for two heat periods.

·         Advanced technology like embryo transfer is practical because of A.I.

·         A.I. encourages improved management.  There’s no sense committing the labor and resources if you’re not going to do it right.
           

Written by Dr. Keith Beeman, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University.

Source: Texas Longhorn Trails, July 2008 issue, page 142.

 

 

 

Posted on May 22, 2010 - by Russell

A Matter of Marketing

If the commercial man is your target, you’re aiming for a bulls-eye hit.

By Richard D. Carlson

            It would be easy to say the world knows how great our Texas Longhorn cattle are, but that is simply not true.  Many of the world’s greatest inventions are only successful business ventures because of the talents of two men, the inventor and the marketer.     
            The inventor, normally a purist at heart, constantly felt the marketer was degrading his product.  He couldn’t understand anyone having to promote his gadget because he believed it was so great an invention the public would beat down his door to buy it.
            So, Mr. Inventor said to himself, “Why pay the promoter so much money when he isn’t needed at all?”  Mr. Inventor made 5,000 gadgets and said, “Here they are world!”
            One year passed and Mr. Inventor had 4,999 gadgets on the shelf – his wife bought one.  What Mr. Inventor didn’t know was everyone would love his gadgets if they knew the product and how useful it was.
            This story has certainly been put in its simplest form without consideration to the many avenues and methods of marketing, but it merely illustrates a point.
            Texas Longhorn cattle are outstanding, but we must properly and constantly present them to the world.  Marketing our cattle is not the problem.  I believe every one of our 3,234 members feel we must promote the Longhorn to be ultimately successful.
            How to market and who to market them to becomes our target range.  If we simply scatter our firing across the field, we will hit very little; if we zero in on specific targets with a definite goal in mind, then we will begin seeing results.
            Who uses our product?  The commercial cattleman?  You bet.  He is the basis of our total cattle structure.  No purebred cattle breeders of any breed will have a constant demand for his cows and bulls unless “Mr. Commercial Cattleman” believes in his own mind that the purebred market will help improve his profitability.
            If your “specialty breed” will make the commercial cattleman money, he will accept the breed.  It may take him time to accept you, but if your “specialty breed” lives up to its promises, his acceptance will come in time.
            It is generally at this point in time the investors become interested in the “specialty breed.”  The investor will then stay with the specialty breed until the commercial cattleman finds something better and then he will leave this “specialty breed” as quickly as he came in.
            The investor is needed in the operation to bring constant attention to the cattle.  When an animal sells for $100,000, this is news and the magazines will run the articles free because people want to read about it.
            It is at this point we must not lose sight of the maker of the specialty breed, the commercial cowman.  No matter how successful we as breeders of Texas Longhorn cattle become, we can’t forget where we came from and who will ultimately pass judgment on us. 
            The genetic base of the Texas Longhorn is, as Dr. Stewart Fowler puts it, a gold mine.  The commercial cowman doesn’t really care if our cattle are colorful or big horned.
            Horns and color may be important to us, the purebred cattle raisers, because they are readable yardsticks with which we can measure successes in breeding within our specialty breed.
            However, you and I know that the cattleman doesn’t care if his Angus is black or his Longhorn is colorful.  His interest is in whether or not the specialty breed will make him money.  This sounds simple, but he must be convinced that the Longhorn will make him more money than any of the other specialty breeds.
            Mr. Brinkman, a well known and successful Brangus breeder, recently stated in an article (I am paraphrasing), “So goes the bull market, so goes the breed.”  I will not accept the concept that our small horned but good conformation cow should sell for $600.  They will sell for $1,200 when the purebred breeder knows the marketplace demands his bull calves.
            Even if every breeder steers the lower half of his bulls, which he should in order to weed out inferior bulls, and demands $850 for yearling bulls and $1,200 for 2-year-olds, then the mother cow is still worth at least $1,200.  Three calf crops of one heifer and one steer and one bull will more than pay for the mother cow.
            The demand for the mother cow will be there for many years to come, when we convince the total cattle industry that our product works and works every time.
            Over the past seven years or so, commercial cowmen have been becoming more aware of the benefits of using Longhorn bulls on their first-calf heifers.  When they try it, they know it works.
            The general focus of the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America (TLBAA) marketing today still needs to put out to the industry that Longhorn bulls work.  Calving ease is a reality in Longhorns, although many other breeds claim it.
            When 30,000,000 heifers in the cattle industry have crossbred Longhorn calves, then we will know our marketing job has been well done.  We know our product works for calving ease and we have the research to back it up – we just need to keep telling the world!
            Once that crossbred calf hits the ground, our marketing becomes even more difficult.  We need to gather feedlot data.  Our crossbred Longhorns are doing the job in the feedlot and we must market it to the cowman.  If the cowman knows he’ll have the market for Longhorn cross calves in the feedlot, then he will need more Longhorn bulls to keep production going, so the cycle continues.
            Calving ease data, feedlot data, disease resistance data, fertility data – we must gather it, condense it, and use it!  The F1 Longhorn cross mother cow is fast becoming reality.  She has the ability to contribute to the cattle industry all of the above genetic qualities the cowman is looking for.  If we build her foundation well with the commercial cowman, she will become known as the cow that gave profit back to the cattle industry.
            Mr. Commercial Cowman, buy a Longhorn bull for your heifers and give the “touch of life.”  Texas Longhorn cattle are giving life back to the cattle industry once again.

Source:  The Longhorn Scene, August 1985 issue, Opinion Corner, pages 63-64

Russell Hooks: This article was printed 25 years ago but the content still rings true in today’s Longhorn industry. That is why I felt like it should be made available to the public.